One of the most common pest problems are squirrels that have chewed their way into homes. The method to remove those squirrels is fairly simple, provided you don’t mind working on a ladder. These critters are very persistent so therefore you need to put on your best game face. They normally find their way inside homes via a tree that is overhanging the house, across power wires or possibly by just crawling up the stucco.

Attics, basements and sheds are all attractive areas for squirrels to build their nests, so they must be carefully sealed to prevent the rodents from finding their way in.

When a squirrel takes up residence in a home, they can present a serious fire hazard as they like to chew on exposed cables and electrical insulation, which can cause a short and therefore a fire. Persistent noise, unpleasant smells and eventual structural damage can also result from having an unwelcome resident. Don’t ignore a squirrel nest in your home!

These 5 tips can help you remove these critters:

Locate where they have breached your home.

Set traps near this point.

Traps these squirrels with trap baited with Peanut Butter.

Relocate these squirrels at least 15 miles from your residence – also check with Department of Natural Resources regarding transporting these animals, and where they can be released. There may be laws and regulations applicable to your town or state.

After you think all squirrels have been removed, paper test the hole to make sure nothing is entering or exiting the hole. At this point you are ready to seal the hole and get on with life – minus your non-paying tenants!

Trapping: there are a variety of mouse traps on the market: Snap traps, glue boards and live traps.

Remember mice travel along a wall or surface, and they feel their way along with their friscae, or whiskers. So if you want to be getting rid of mice, set your traps perpendicular to the wall, trigger base against the wall. That way they snap against the wall; some mice will get smart and jump snap traps. If this is the case, set another trap 3″ from the first trap. Do the same thing with glueboards and live traps.

This year’s war on wasps and bees in Minnesota is necessary in part due to climate change: when there are not enough freezing days these insects flourish, and it allows them a much higher probability of survival than when the winters are harsh.

Therefore, colonies are larger than ever, wasps and bees are hungry, and this makes them more likely to attack in response to the danger pheromone released when one of their own is under threat of death. That’s why swatting wasps and bees is not recommended; try one of the following techniques instead.

Wasps do have certain uses around the yard, consuming dead bugs and flies, but stings are painful and can be deadly to those who are allergic. Removing them can be difficult, as chemicals are toxic and can be harmful to children and pets – you might want to consider a more natural approach to eliminating these pests.

Prevention:

Prevention is always the first step to keeping your yard wasp and bee free. If you remove any discarded food, even pet and bird food, and cover trash cans, that will be one less attractant. Sweet smells attract wasps, including nectar, lotions and perfumes.

Discourage bees and wasps from making their home in your yard by checking your house and areas around it for places that need repair. Any broken siding or cracks in construction are ideal places for wasps to build a nest, and if there are ways to get into the house, such as through broken air ducts, vents or windows, they will take the opportunity.
Rodent holes and burrows in your lawn will also give them a safe place to live, so be sure to fill them in and keep the grass cut short.

Decorative wasp decoys will help too. They can be purchased at most home improvement or garden stores, or on Amazon. They’re especially effective for paper wasps, which can be territorial and generally will not construct a nest that is within 200 ft of the next one. Placing a couple of decoys, one on each side of the house, can dissuade them from going in. If you don’t want to purchase them, you can create your own and it requires no crafty skills. Simply crumble up some old newspaper into chunks, stuff them into plastic grocery bags and tie them shut. Stuff the bags into paper lunch-size bags, and then hang them up in corners and additional spots where wasps could be likely to nest in or around your property.

Grow wasp repelling plants:

Removing plants from your landscaping that attract wasps and bees will also help, and replace them with plants that they do not like, such as spearmint, thyme citronella, eucalyptus, and wormwood.

Not only do wasps stay away from all kinds of mint grown in the garden, you can back it up with peppermint oil, but putting several drops on a cotton pad and placing them strategically around your yard, such as on porch roofs, beneath eaves and in other cracks and on ledges.

A research printed in the Journal of Pest Management Science at 2013, reported exceptional results with peppermint oil.

The study also found that a combination of lemongrass, clove and geranium essential oils repelled employee wasps. Try a mixture of many drops of all the oils in a spray bottle full of water, and a couple of squirts of dish soap. Spray it liberally on and around your house, in areas where wasps are known to build nests.

These traps described below work by attracting wasps to fly into the container of sugar water, and they are not able to escape.

First, cut off the neck a two-liter plastic soda bottle.

Then remove the bottle cap and turn the neck upside down and put it in the jar opening which you just cut.

Bait the trap by putting a mixture of sugar and water inside. You could also use beer, soda, vinegar and water or even laundry detergent. By including a little bit of cooking oil to the edges of the trap, you will make it slippery and ensure the wasps cannot crawl out.

Hang your trap somewhere where wasps will be attracted to it, or close to an existing nest, and when it is full, simply take it down, throw it out, and build a new one.

Eliminating wasp nests:

IMPORTANT: Eliminating wasp nests can be exceedingly dangerous. It’s strongly suggested to seek the services of a seasoned professional to perform the task for you. If trying yourself, first make certain you’re not allergic to wasp stings by assembling an allergy test with your health care provider. Make certain you wear protective clothing, and plan an escape route if the wasps opt to swarm.

An eco-friendly approach to eliminating wasps would be to use plain soap and water. Add two tablespoons of dish soap into a spray bottle full of water, and squirt it at the nests. Experts say the soap functions to clog their breathing cubes and they die almost immediately. It is far more humane than using pesticides to kill them, as these substances can take hours to be effective.

If you have got big nests, you might choose to handle them using a garden hose. Simply join the hose-end sprayer and fill it up with warm water and dish soap. This technique could be quite a bit messier and might increase the possibility of being stung, so make certain to stand as far back away from the nest that you can, and wear protective clothing.

Protective garments such as shorts, boots, socks, a hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled over your head, gloves and protective goggles or eyeglasses are vital. Also remember that this is work that’s best done at night since that is when the wasps are least busy, so their response time is slower, and they’re not as competitive. Use a reddish or amber colored light for secure visibility as regular flashlights will bring wasps to you.

Another alternative is to light a fire in a barbecue just under the nest. Let it smoke for an hour or two, then once you are sure the nest is empty, you can knock it down with a broom. It is a good idea to keep a spray bottle of dish soap on hand in case any wasps remain. This technique only works on free hanging nests on tree branches or similar; do not use it if the nest is attached to the house, as you risk a fire.

Getting rid of bees in your yard:

Before you take any action, it’s vital to be certain that it is definitely bees you’re addressing, and not wasps or hornets. Bees are valuable pollinators and aren’t aggressive or harmful (unless someone in your family has an allergy), so killing them must be avoided if possible.

You can identify bees by examining them (that is easiest if you can find a dead bee). Start looking for hairs on the body – all bees have hairs, whereas wasps tend to have smooth exteriors. Honey bees build their nests from wax, in a honeycomb formation, whereas other stinging insects often construct their nests from wood, fiber or sand.

Honey bees have a tendency to be most active in spring, even when they are collecting pollen. Watch for signs of them flying back and forth from the nest.

The best course of action is to telephone a local beekeeper or contact a pest control company. If you have confirmed the presence of honey bees and have found the nest (they prefer enclosed spaces like wall cavities, roofs and chimneys), then your first step must be to call a local beekeeper. Honey bees are disappearing quickly, and it is crucial that their habitats be preserved.

Beekeepers will often physically remove both the bees and their hive, without having to exterminate them. They may do this for free or they might charge a commission, depending on the location of the nest and the effort involved. In certain places, they might even pay you.

The beekeeper will usually cut out the honeycombs and set them in frames, which the beekeeper can later transfer to their own hive box.

If the nest is hard to reach, the beekeeper may use a special vacuum to suck up the bees without killing them.

If the nest is behind a wall, you might have to call a contractor to knock down a portion of the wall to give the beekeeper access to the bees. As the homeowner, you will have to cover the cost of the any repairs which follow.

The bees will probably become agitated as the beekeeper does his/her job. Therefore it is recommended that you keep your family, especially any pets or children, inside. The beekeeper will be protected by their beekeeping suit.

In certain situations, local beekeepers may be unwilling or unable to eliminate the nest. If this is the case, you’ll need to call a professional pest control expert.

Once the exterminators have removed the bees, it’s important to remove the nest, otherwise the bees and the honey from the combs could begin to rot, producing a very bad smell and potentially causing damage. Then you’ll need to thoroughly clean the region with warm soapy water, and repaint if necessary.

Another choice for eliminating the bees without killing them would be to trap them out of the nest. This really is a time-consuming procedure, so it must only be undertaken by homeowners who are not in a rush to get rid of the bees or hire a pest management professional.

To trap the bees, you will need an exit cone created from screen wire.

For this procedure to work, it is very important that you seal up all other entrances (like holes and cracks) leading into the hive, otherwise the bees will simply find another way in.

To ensure that the trapped bees survive, you’ll want to put a small hive (provided by a beekeeper) as close to the exit cone as you can. When the bees that are trapped find that they can no longer return to their first nest, they’ll join this new nest instead.

Depending on the size of the original colony, it might take up to two months for all the bees to exit. The original queen will not abandon her brood, so you will need to inject pesticides into the wall to kill her and any residual bees. Clean up after. Once the bees have been removed, it is important that you remove the hive and then wash up any dead bees or honey prior to sealing the area.

The smell of old honey and wax can draw in new swarms who will begin to prepare their hive in the same place, so it’s important to eliminate the old one and seal off the area to be able to avoid going through the whole bee removal procedure again the following year.

To get rid of a large hive, you might need to tear down a wall; this is a nuisance, but remember that the cost of repairing the wall is less than the possible cost of replacing damaged drywall. Clean up the old hive, then paint over the area.

The last step would be to fill in the cavity (expandable foam insulation is recommended) and seal up any holes or cracks in the wall in which the bees could potentially reenter. It’s also a good idea to inspect the area periodically throughout the year, to make sure all of the entrances remain sealed.

We’re here to help so feel free to call us for more tips at (651) 646-6131.

These little animals run our world and ruin our kitchens; an estimated 322 quadrillion and (That’s 322,000 trillion – as much mass as all the human beings on the planet) are on Earth turning over soil and preying on other insects daily. This is a great opportunity for myrmecologists (ant specialists) to drop a little ant science.

Ants communicate chemically with glands located in or near their anus, in addition to 30 additional glands scattered around their bodies.

In Welzel’s words: “Ants are basically a walking chemical factory. There’s just glands everywhere.” Rectal glands are used to lay odor trails to help nestmates find food; they also summon help when an ant is threatened. The poison glands of ants are also located in the rear, and make formic acid.

The outer surface of ants is covered with chemicals that let them identify friend from foe. All nest-mates have a similar chemical profile, and it’s pretty oily stuff they slather themselves in daily.

The hydrocarbon profile of ants is so colony specific, invaders have to mimic them to avoid annihilation. It is possible to fool ants — some predators mimic the “smell” of an alarm pheromones, with incredible precision, sowing panic and confusion. A few spiders seem to have figured out how to remain invisible to ants chemically.

Some insects, like aphids and caterpillars, provide sugary poop treats to avoid ant attack, and ants will protect and carry them from place to place in reward.

Almost every ant you’ve ever seen in your entire life is female. “Males just don’t even matter… They’re barely ever around. They’re only there for a particular season, and when they are around they don’t have the mandibles to actually do any work.”

Stupid Ways to Die if You’re an Ant

Some of the more entertaining discussions about how an ant might meet a gruesome end involved the parasitic fungus Ophiocordyceps, which grows inside ant bodies, turns them into zombies, and eventually sprouts out of their heads with lethal force. Some parasitic flies inject their eggs inside living ants. When ready to emerge, the maggots decapitate their ant hosts. A whole host of parasitic wasp species also lay eggs inside of ants with chest-burster results later on.

Ways to Eliminate Ants

How Do I control ants?
Treatment plans must consist of killing the whole colony. Simply spraying an ant using a normal ant spray, especially a toothpaste spray is only going to kill a few.

Ants may come in your home foraging for food or even to seek refuge. Knowing the behaviour of ants can aid you with using the advised pest control processes outlined here. They go through the smallest gaps, foraging for food or water. They’re in search of sweet established foods or protein/grease established foods. As soon as they locate a food supply, ants will likely leave a pheromone trail for other ants to follow along.

Understanding their behaviour patterns as outlined above and below can allow you to attain the very best pest control.

To keep your ant problem in check, inspection is a significant initial step.

To discover ant nests, follow along their paths. Ants lay a chemical pheromone path as well as their established routes to and from your food supply so that other Ants can readily discover the food.

Within a home, inspect the rug edges, windows, doors, and all regions of the kitchen. The simplest way to discover a path to the nest would be to observe where ants proceed after reaching the food source. If you’re targeting Carpenter Ants, inspection at night is more effective because the bigger Carpenter Ant is nocturnal. It’s possible to place Carpenter Ants appearing from broken wood within the home, or foraging outdoors in woodpiles, rotted or water-damaged timber, and tree stumps.

Outside the home, scrutinize around foundation walls, vegetation, and mulch. Any vegetation found close to walls and patios might hide some Ant paths. Assess under any item that’s on the ground. Some ant nests are nicely concealed.

Eliminate the nest straight-up whenever possible or use lure or non-repellent insecticide around the outside of the home and on the ant paths.

There are two chief kinds of ant conditions generally encountered when you have an ant issue.

Ants that Reside Outdoors and forage inside

Ants that have a nest built in your home

Your pest control plan should be contingent on the sort of infestation and the sort of ant that’s responsible. Identifying which sant you’re dealing with is useful, but might be tough without a magnifying glass.

Ants that live outdoors and forage in the house.
Ants that reside outside will come in your house to hunt for food. Some species eventually live and nest within homes. Follow the steps below to help prevent either form of infestation from developing further:

Caulk and seal cracks and seams to get rid of passages to your house. Because Ants are really industrious in finding entrance points, so you might not have the capability to seal all of them.

Wash around entry points using a soap to eliminate the ant pheromone placed on their route, then squirt on a non-repellent residual insecticide across the perimeter and entrance points.

Ants that nest within your house.
Many ants do not simply enter your house foraging for food. Some ants will set-up a colony indoors.

Indoor colonization occurs year round. All these ants can infest food storage areas. Most ant pesticides are safe to use around pets and kids when you follow instructions. Ant baits arrive in implants, granules, or channels. The active ingredients in those baits might be sugar-based or even protein/grease-based, to lure an assortment of ant species and also fill their dietary needs.

Carpenter Ants are busy in theevening hours when foraging for food, both within the home and outdoors. By detecting carpenter ants at night, you have the ability to tell in which to product to use, spray or lure. Eliminating the nest itself is always the best solution for carpenter ant management. Until the whole nest is effectively handled, the colony might scatter and spread. Utilize a non-repellent insecticide to ensure complete ant colony removal.

Place Carpenter Ant Baits right on the Ant trails.
Utilize a non-repellent insecticide aerosol. Non-repellent aerosols are exceptional to repellent aerosols since the Ants don’t detect them and will not avoid being affected by them. A normal binder spray will kill the nesting ants Ants.

Eliminate dead stumps around the land and store firewood from the floor and away from the construction.

We hope this helps. If you need further assistance call the number at the top of the page. Even during normal off hours if we don’t answer our goal is to get back to you within a half hour of when you leave your voicemail. Get rid of those ants.

In Summary: ANTS

If you want to know more about the amazing chemistry and behavior of ants, Journey to the Ants is a great book to start with, and there are some great videos explaining ant research and ant reproduction.

It’s easy to bring fleas and ticks into your home when returning from hikes, walks and outdoor exercise, and far harder to eliminate them.

Not only are ticks unpleasant and painful, they spread disease and infection through their bites. Fleas are even more common – especially when you have a pet in the house – and can quickly become an out of control infestation.

By following the seven simple tips below you can reduce the number of bugs that make their way into your home, and also learn how to remove them quickly and efficiently.

While there are thirteen different known kinds of ticks in Minnesota, the primary kinds of ticks that you are likely to find are the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), the deer tick / blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis), and the brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus).

They are commonly found in longer grasses, in woodlands and on trails, and even the tidiest back yard is not immune to them. Dogs and cats can pick them up while playing outside, irrespective of their breed or coat type, so some kind of tick preventative on your furry friends is important.

The size and color of the tick can vary, depending on whether or not they are engorged with blood, and on the species, but hatchlings can be as small as under 1mm, while adults can be the size of a sunflower seed, growing to half an inch long if engorged.

There are four phases in a tick’s lifecycle: egg, larval, nymphal and adult. They suck blood during all stages, emitting and transmitting pathogens, living beings that cause illnesses in the host. It is important to identify and remove ticks as soon as possible, as infections can result from a bite, and also transmit Lyme disease and Anaplasmosis in both animals and humans. These are the most common tick-borne diseases in Minnesota, with 1,200-1,400 reported Lyme cases each year, and 600-700 cases of human anaplasmosis being seen.

If you find yourself with a tick invasion in your house, look to repairing any cracks that come inside from the outside, and also keep the area outside tidy and the grass cut.

A more likely source of ticks in the home is pets coming indoors with ticks on them. The ticks may not necessarily be attached, but may be making their way through the fur and can fall off inside as the pet makes its way through the house.

Check your pet before he or she goes back in the house after exercise; problem areas will be armpits, inside of the rear legs, inside ears, bellies and around the eyes. These are all places where the fur is less dense, making it easier for the ticks to attach.

Remove ticks found on people and animals immediately, being careful to remove the head. Clean the area well with antiseptic or alcohol to reduce the risk of infection. Do not crush the body of the tick, but grasp carefully with tweezers around the head, and twist counter-clockwise to remove. To avoid spreading bacteria, it is important not to squeeze the body of the tick. Wash hands thoroughly before and after removal.

There are many other folk remedies touted on the internet for removal of ticks from yourself or your pets, including covering in vaseline, using alcohol, nail polish remover or burning matches, but these are not recommended by the health department and should be avoided for safety.

Should Lyme disease be suspected, often characterized by a red ‘bullseye’ around the wound, retain the removed tick for medical inspection and testing. Symptoms of Lyme disease include severe fatigue, fevers and muscle aches.

Removing ticks promptly is crucial to the prevention of Lyme disease; it is necessary for them to remain attached for 24-48 hours in order to transmit the bacteria. However, there is evidence to suggest that human anaplasmosis is transmitted more quickly; in around 12-24 hours. Symptoms are similar to Lyme, including fevers, headaches, muscle aches and chills and shaking.

In pets, and Lyme is significantly more common in dogs than cats, symptoms include lameness and swollen joints, fever, lymph node enlargement, reduced appetite and lethargy.

Where you are not able to remove the tick safely or if you leave the head embedded, seek medical or veterinary attention.

Fleas can be found in all areas of Minnesota. Indications include itching and redness of affected areas. For fleas on dogs, veterinarians will be able to prescribe chemicals to kill and repel them, and some can also be purchased over the counter in pet stores.

Fleas also carry disease, including plague, cat scratch fever and flea tapeworm. It is very easy for fleas to hide in carpets, rugs and soft furnishings, in areas that don’t get cleaned very often even in the cleanest of houses, and breed indiscriminately.

For more widespread infestations in homes and buildings, it may be necessary to call a pest control company to spray and treat the affected area.

Fleas and ticks are both parasitic in nature, sucking the blood of their hosts and transmitting disease and infection through the bite.

The following advice can make your home less welcoming to fleas and ticks:

Investigate Your Yard.

The main line of safeguard is shielding your property from bugs and ticks setting up housekeeping anywhere you or your pets frequent.

Keep bushes and trees trimmed back, and the grass cut.

Discourage wildlife and other pets from coming into your yard and bringing pests with them. Keep your pets’ food inside to discourage visitors such as opossums, raccoons and non-domesticated cats.

Monthly pet treatments – spot on

Use spot on treatments and preventatives on your cats and dogs.

When returning to the home after a walk, brush your pet outside before going indoors to remove any ticks they may have picked up outside, and check the high-risk areas of your pet visually and by feel. The tiny ticks are the hardest to detect, and may not be found with just a cursory glance.

Shearing long haired pets during spring and summer will make it easier to spot any fleas or ticks they may pick up.

Pet treatments – collars

Flea and tick collars are available in long lasting formulations for both cats and dogs. While a little more expensive than the spot on treatments, they are said to be very effective in preventing bugs from taking up residence on your pet.

Pet treatments – pills

ticks on dog

If you prefer, there are flea and tick treatments for both cats and dogs in pill form. Many also prevent heartworms, so can be a one-stop-shop for a healthier pet.

Keep Your Home Clean.

Vacuum frequently and in all the corners and under furniture to remove bugs. Change out your vacuum bag or empty the canister frequently – and do it outside – to prevent the bugs from returning to the house and eggs from hatching inside your vacuum cleaner.

Wash pets’ bedding frequently and consider spraying with some kind of flea and tick repellent. If you prefer to stay away from chemical use in your house, there are several kinds of essential oils that are very effective in the fight against fleas and ticks. Once again, be careful when using essential oils around cats as they are extremely sensitive to them.

Lavender, lemon, citronella, bergamot, cedarwood, peppermint, geranium, sweet orange and rosemary are all good for repelling fleas and ticks, and a mild solution can be made up in a spray bottle, mixed with purified water, for use on pet bedding. Alternatively, there are several commercially available herbal based flea and tick sprays and shampoos.

Use repellant

Both Diatomaceous Earth and Borax are effective repellants; Borax can be toxic to children and animals, however, so should be used with care. When sprinkled around problem areas in the home they can repel and eliminate fleas and ticks.

Using repellent on yourself when outside will also help to prevent fleas and ticks from hitching a ride inside. Products containing DEET or permethrin are excellent repellents, but it’s important to be cautious when using them around animals. Permethrin in particular is highly toxic to cats.

Only use permethrin on your clothing, do not apply directly to skin. Wearing long sleeves and tucking pants into socks can help create a tick barrier.

Treat infestations promptly.

If you suspect a flea or tick infestation in your house, move quickly to treat with bug bombs followed by extensive vacuuming, or call in an exterminator. An infestation will never resolve itself, and can become out of control in a very short space of time.

Fleas in particular have a long life cycle, and eggs can remain dormant for some time. It may be necessary to have repeat treatments to kill adults and then further treatment after eggs have hatched, so if you choose to tackle the situation yourself, remember to plan for ongoing treatments.

A hands-on approach to both prevention and cure is obviously the best way to handle any kind of bugs, inside or outside of the home. By making your home less inviting to them and removing their opportunities to reproduce, you’re less likely to encounter problems. Repellants and bug bombs are your next line of defense, and you know what they say: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

One or two fleas may not seem like a big deal, but remember that fleas are like cockroaches: if you can see a few of them, there’s sure to be millions you can’t see. And when these bugs have the potential to bring illness to hosts, both human and pet, it’s crucial to act immediately. With these seven tips in mind, you’ve got a handle on keeping them out, getting rid of them and making sure your family stays healthy and bug-free.

Pest Control Blog

Hearing a telltale scratching in your attic? Here is a standard squirrel removal method. For Emergency Call Pest Control: (651) 646-6431 One of the most common pest problems are squirrels that have chewed their way into homes. The method to remove those squirrels is fairly simple, provided you don’t mind working on a ladder. […]

For Emergency Call Pest Control: (651) 646-6431 There’s no such thing as one mouse… if there’s one there’s usually dozens! Find out here the why and how on getting rid of mice. Mousey Mousey…. Ever hear this conversation at 11.30pm? Night 1: Honey! What’s that noise? It sound like […]

This year’s war on wasps and bees in Minnesota is necessary in part due to climate change: when there are not enough freezing days these insects flourish, and it allows them a much higher probability of survival than when the winters are harsh. Therefore, colonies are larger than ever, wasps and bees are hungry, and […]

These little animals run our world and ruin our kitchens; an estimated 322 quadrillion and (That’s 322,000 trillion – as much mass as all the human beings on the planet) are on Earth turning over soil and preying on other insects daily. This is a great opportunity for myrmecologists (ant specialists) to drop a little ant science. […]

Company Profile

For over 9 decades, LAUGHLIN’S has been providing Minnesota pest and critter control for the, Minneapolis – St. Paul, Minnesota metropolitan area.
Let our family keep your family safe with our … Read More